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Ateneo CORD graduates first batch of OD Diplomates

June 05, 2017

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Ateneo de Manila University president Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin, S.J. stressed the importance of continuous learning during the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (CORD) graduation last week.

CORD held a graduation ceremony for its first batch of Diplomates in Organization Development (OD) last June 2, 2017 at the Ateneo Art Gallery.

"All this [OD work] resonates well with the mission that is the Ateneo de Manila. Here we say men and women for others. And to form such, we look to the heart and mind and body of the person who’s being formed to make an oblation of life. But we are also mindful of the fact that these acts of oblation are often made in the milieu of the organization or group, in a context of cultures and structures and systems. It is hard to be good, or to sustain the good in a bad organization. And we have learned that bad structures can actually hurt people. I am glad that the Ateneo has become a place where people who want to grow in OD work can come and learn.”

OD, Fr. Villarin told the 24 new graduates, is a “mission of service.”

“It is a calling to help people by making organizations strong and resilient, and capacitating them to exorcise their organizational demons and dysfunctional ways,” he added.

Marie Sol Gonzalvo and Muhamad Faisal Ismael spoke on behalf of their fellow graduates, thanking Ateneo CORD for the opportunity. “It’s a very enriching, inspiring, and fruitful journey for us. Hopefully, as we leave the classes and Ateneo, we will continue to perform as we go back to our organizations. We will carry the torch as we return to our institutions,” Gonzalvo said.

A main Ateneo CORD program offering, the Diploma in Organization Development consists of 5 Certificate courses taught over 25 days: Foundations of Organization Development, Process Consultation, Diagnosis, Interventions Design and Evaluation, and Complex Systems Change. Aimed at OD practitioners, CORD reintroduced the program in 2015, making it competitive in the ASEAN region.